Ahmednagar liquor tragedy: Death toll rises to 7

Four more persons died after they consumed 'adulterated liquor' at the dinner party of a candidate, who contested the local body election in district's Pangarmal village, police said

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Ahmednagar: Four more persons died after they consumed 'adulterated liquor' at the dinner party of a candidate, who contested the local body election in district's Pangarmal village, police said. The toll in the incident has reached seven with the death of Shahadev Avhad last morning, assistant civil surgeon Dr Bapusaheb Gadhe told PTI on Thursday.

Three persons had died after they had consumed liquor in excess at the party hosted by a Shiv Sena candidate on Sunday. On Monday morning, some persons (who attended the dinner) started complaining of vomiting and loose motions and were rushed to a nearby hospital where three of them died. Police had initially ruled out hooch consumption. "So far, seven people have died after consuming adulterated liquor at the party and few more are undergoing treatment," Deputy Superintendent of Police Ghanshayam Patil said.

The three persons, who were booked in this connection -- Zakeer Shaikh, Hanif Shaikh and Jitu Gambhir -- were produced before a court yesterday which remanded in police custody till February 20. Meanwhile, the villagers of Panagarmal boycotted the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls held yesterday for 15 ZPs and 165 Panchayat Samitis across Maharashtra.

Panagarmal recorded 'zero voting' and the villagers did not exercise their franchise despite being requested by Tehasildar Sudhir Patil, assistant election officer Arun Anandkar said. The angry locals demanded immediate compensation for the families of the victims and those hospitalised.